Kevin French netted 26 points as Brock University had five scorers in double figures to earn an 83-73 victory over Canisius College in a men's basketball exhibition contest in the Koessler Athletic Center Monday night. It was the Badgers' first victory over the Golden Griffins in nine all-time contests.
Morgan Fairweather posted 15 points and five rebounds, while Kevin Stienstra, Brad Rootes and Scott Murray each scored 12 points.
The Golden Griffins were paced by Kevin Downey's 18 points, and freshman Rigoberto Sargeant posted 17 points and seven rebounds. Darnell Wilson tallied 10 points and nine boards, and Dewitt Doss (right) had 15 points and six assists.
The Badgers shot 62.5 percent from the field, including 54.2 percent from three-point range (13-for-24). Brock shot 15-for-20, including 7-for-9 from three-point land, in the second half.
“We didn't play as sharp and as well as we can, and our youth showed a lot,” said Canisius coach Mike MacDonald. “We have to use this for what it is ? a chance to get out on the court with the lights on and get the nerves out. We have to play a certain way to be successful, and we're still learning that.”
With the game tied 12-12, Brock used a 9-0 run to distance itself from the Griffs and never looked back. Stienstra ignited the stretch with a jumper, and Murray capped the run with one of his three three-pointers.
Canisius whittled the lead down to three at 27-24 with 4:10 left in the first half, but the Badgers outscored the Griffs 12-7 and finished the
half leading 39-31. Rootes capped the stretch with a three-pointer with two seconds left in the frame.
The Brock advantage grew to as many as 11 points early in the second half as French gave the Badgers a 50-39 cushion with 16:18 remaining.
The Griffs got the margin down to three points twice late in the stanza. Doss capped a 6-0 run with a layup to make the score 60-57, but Dustin Bianchin drained two free throws to push the margin back to five. Wilson cut the lead to 62-59 with 7:04 to go, but Murray and French made consecutive three-pointers to halt the comeback.
“They spread you out, make good passes and make a lot of threes,” said MacDonald. “Some of that is poor defense by us, but some of that is good basketball by them. We need to use this to get better for next Monday.”
Canisius opens the season against Howard in the Koessler Center Monday, Nov.22, at 7 p.m.
